How to Prevent Giveaway Fraud on Discord

Why Giveaway Fraud Is a Growing Problem

Discord giveaway fraud has increased dramatically in 2025, with studies showing that up to 30% of giveaway entries on popular servers come from fake accounts, bots, or multi-accounting users trying to game the system. This not only wastes your prizes but damages community trust and discourages legitimate members from participating.

The problem is especially severe for high-value prizes like Discord Nitro, game keys, or cash rewards. Fraudsters use automated tools to create dozens of alt accounts, join servers, enter giveaways, and immediately leave after winning. Some even sell these "giveaway farming" services on black market forums.

Common Types of Giveaway Fraud

10 Proven Anti-Fraud Strategies

Strategy #1: Require Minimum Server Age

Only allow users who have been in your server for at least 7-14 days to enter giveaways. This single rule eliminates 80% of alt account fraud because fraudsters won't wait weeks before entering.

Strategy #2: Activity-Based Entry Requirements

Require participants to have sent at least 10-20 messages in your server before entering. This forces fraudsters to manually engage, making mass farming unviable.

// Example: Use level bots to track activity
// Only users with "Active Member" role (Level 5+) can enter
// Configure in MEE6, Tatsu, or Amari Bot

Strategy #3: Phone Verification Requirement

Discord allows servers to require phone verification. Users must verify a unique phone number to their Discord account before joining. This is the most effective anti-alt measure since one phone = one account.

How to enable: Server Settings → Moderation → Verification Level → Set to "Must have a verified phone on their Discord account"

Strategy #4: Manual Winner Verification

Before awarding prizes, manually verify the winner by:

• Checking their account creation date (should be 30+ days old)
• Reviewing their message history in your server
• Confirming they have a profile picture and custom status
• Verifying they're in multiple servers (check mutual servers)
• Sending a DM with a simple question to confirm they're human

Strategy #5: Use CAPTCHA Verification

Integrate CAPTCHA bots like Wick, AltDentifier, or Double Counter that require users to solve a puzzle before gaining server access. This blocks 99% of automated bots.

Strategy #6: Implement Join Date Checks

Most alt accounts are created in bulk within hours or days. Use bots to automatically flag or kick accounts younger than 30 days from joining your server.

// AltDentifier Bot Example
!altdentifier set age 30d
// Kicks accounts created less than 30 days ago

Strategy #7: Bonus Entries for Verified Members

Instead of blocking new users entirely, give massive bonus entries (10-20x) to verified, active members. This dilutes the impact of fake accounts without excluding legitimate newcomers.

/start duration:2d winners:1 prize:Discord Nitro bonusrole:@Active Member bonusamount:15 channel:#giveaways

Strategy #8: Announce Winners Privately First

Don't announce winners publicly. Instead, DM the winner first and verify their identity. Only announce publicly after they've confirmed. This prevents impersonation scams.

Strategy #9: Monitor Reaction Patterns

Automated bots react to giveaways within milliseconds of posting. Review reaction timestamps on high-value giveaways. Accounts that react in under 1 second are likely bots.

Manually check the first 10-20 reactions on valuable prizes. Look for patterns: new accounts, no avatars, similar names, instant reactions.

Strategy #10: Use Alt Detection Bots

Specialized bots can detect alt accounts by analyzing join patterns, IP addresses (with user consent), and behavioral similarities.

Top Alt Detection Bots:

• AltDentifier: Detects alt accounts based on creation date and join patterns
• Wick: Advanced verification with IP detection (requires user permission)
• Beemo: Auto-moderator that flags suspicious accounts
• Double Counter: Prevents mass account joins (raids and bots)

Red Flags to Watch For

Train your mod team to recognize these warning signs when reviewing giveaway winners:

Creating a Fraud Prevention Policy

Document your anti-fraud rules clearly and post them in a dedicated channel. This sets expectations and gives you grounds to disqualify suspicious entries.

What to Do When You Catch a Fraudster

1. Document Everything: Take screenshots of the suspicious account(s), their join date, reaction time, and any patterns you noticed.
2. Use /reroll Command: Immediately reroll the giveaway to select a legitimate winner. Don't waste time arguing with fraudsters.
3. Ban the Accounts: Ban the fraudulent account(s) from your server. If you detect multiple alts, ban them all.
4. Report to Discord: If you have evidence of automation/self-bots, report the accounts to Discord at dis.gd/report. This helps protect the entire platform.
5. Warn Your Community: Post a brief message explaining that a fraudulent entry was detected and a new winner was selected. This reinforces your anti-fraud stance.
6. Update Your Prevention Strategy: If fraudsters bypassed your measures, strengthen your requirements (longer server age, higher activity threshold, etc.).

Balancing Security and Accessibility

The challenge is preventing fraud without making your giveaways so restrictive that legitimate new members can't participate. Here's how to find the balance:

This approach lets newcomers still win small prizes while protecting your major giveaways from fraud. It's the system used by servers with 100,000+ members and has proven highly effective.

Conclusion

Giveaway fraud is a serious problem in 2025, but with the right prevention strategies, you can protect your community and ensure prizes go to real, engaged members. The key is implementing multiple layers of defense: account age requirements, activity verification, manual winner checks, and bot detection tools.

Start with the basics (7-day server age requirement) and gradually add more security measures as your community grows. Remember: it's better to spend 5 minutes verifying a winner than to give a $100 prize to a fraudster.

Your legitimate members will appreciate the fair system, and fraudsters will quickly move on to easier targets. Protect your community, maintain trust, and keep your giveaways fun for everyone.